Chris Sedgwick Reckons Rotherham Clash Is Too Close To Call

Former Preston North End and Rotherham United midfielder Chris Sedgwick believes this evening’s Play-Off semi-final first leg is too close to call.

The Lilywhites welcome Steve Evans’ side to Deepdale for a 5.15pm kick off having finished just one point behind the Millers in the Sky Bet League One table.

Both fixtures between North End and Rotherham finished in draws earlier this season, with the sides producing a 0-0 stalemate at the New York Stadium in August and an entertaining 3-3 spectacle at Deepdale in February.

Sedgwick, who currently plays for League Two side Bury, believes we are in for another cracker this evening and reserved special praise for Preston duo Joe Garner and Paul Gallagher.

“Rotherham have scored goals for fun and they’ve kind of been the surprise team this year,” Sedgwick told PNE.Com in an exclusive interview.

“They have a big budget and they’ve got some good players in and Preston have been solid all through the season.

“They’ve got some terrific players, including Paul Gallagher who I played with in my time there, he’s a really good player – he should be playing Championship and above.

“You’ve got a lad called Joe Garner who has been there and done it, he’s banging them in for fun.

“I couldn’t call it either way because both teams on the day are really, really good and I think this first leg will have a big part to play.

“If North End can get a good result at home it will carry them into the second leg.”

In total, Sedgwick spent the first seven years of his professional career at Rotherham before moving to North End in 2004, where he continued to blossom on the wing.

The midfielder looks back on his time at Millmoor and Deepdale fondly but admits both clubs have changed dramatically since he left.

“It’s an interesting game, I had seven great years at Rotherham, I joined from school but it’s a completely different club to the one I left,” he said.

“The new chairman has come in, he’s built a new stadium, he’s ambitious, he’s backed the manager in the transfer market and they’ve had a right good go.

“You look at Preston and the decline from when I left in 2010 and it’s been really disappointing to see because I think we were so close.

“We had just been in another Play-Off campaign where we lost to Sheffield United and to see that happen, there’s been various managers in charge but it looks now that Simon Grayson has got them back on track.

“He has got a great track record of getting out of the division and he’s proved that he’s the man for the job.”